Craig Johnson Books in Order

Craig Johnson is an American crime mystery author best known for the Walt Longmire series, with over novels, several novellas, and short story collections set in the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. The books are the basis for the Longmire television drama, which aired on A&E and later Netflix. Craig Johnson has won multiple awards for the series including two Western Writers of America Spur Awards and the 2025 Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature.

This page lists all Craig Johnson books in order, including the main Longmire novels, novellas, and short story collections.

Latest Craig Johnson Books

Rough Country
Rough Country, April 2026
The Brothers McKay
The Brothers McKay (Walt Longmire #22), May 2026

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Walt Longmire Series (Books in Order)

Reading Order

The Walt Longmire series follows Sheriff Walt Longmire, a widowed lawman who takes over the least populated county in Wyoming, the fictional Absaroka County. During his work, he investigates murders that touch on the history and culture of the surrounding Northern Cheyenne and Crow communities. Longmire looks intimidating, but he’s quite humble and often lowkey funny, using subtle humor and banter in his interactions with his peers. His closest friend is Henry Standing Bear, a Cheyenne Nation veteran, and his team includes sharp-tongued Philadelphia transplant deputy Vic Moretti, both of whom become more important as the series goes on. Each novel takes place a few months later after the previous one, so the series mirrors the real life.

  1. Tooth and Claw, 2024
  2. The Cold Dish, 2004
  3. Death Without Company, 2006
  4. Kindness Goes Unpunished, 2007
  5. Another Man’s Moccasins, 2008
  6. The Dark Horse, 2009
  7. Junkyard Dogs, 2010
  8. Hell is Empty, 2011
  9. Divorce Horse, 2012
  10. As the Crow Flies, 2012
  11. Christmas in Absaroka County, 2012
  12. Messenger, 2013
  13. A Serpent’s Tooth, 2013
  14. Spirit of Steamboat, 2013
  15. Any Other Name, 2014
  16. Wait for Signs, 2014
  17. Dry Bones, 2015
  18. The Highwayman, 2016
  19. An Obvious Fact, 2017
  20. The Western Star, 2017
  21. Depth of Winter, 2018
  22. Land of Wolves, 2019
  23. Next to Last Stand, 2020
  24. Daughter of the Morning Star, 2021
  25. Hell and Back, 2022
  26. The Longmire Defense, 2023
  27. First Frost, 2024
  28. Return to Sender, 2025
  29. The Brothers McKay, 2026
  30. Have Courage, 2026

Anthologies

Craig Johnson Biography

Craig Johnson Walk Longmire

Craig Johnson is an American author known primarily for the Walt Longmire mystery series, which includes novels, novellas, and short stories, all featuring the same Wyoming sheriff. He has published over 20 novels in the series since the debut The Cold Dish in 2004.
Official website: craigallenjohnson.com

Craig Johnson was born in 1961 in Huntington, West Virginia, and grew up reading mysteries since both his parents liked to read this particular genre. He studied at Marshall University and later completed postgraduate work in playwriting at Temple University in Philadelphia. He eventually settled in Ucross, Wyoming, a town of roughly 25 people, where he lives on a ranch with his wife Judy.

Before becoming a novelist, Craig Johnson also worked as a police officer in New York City (in 1988) as a special officer attached to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later when he moved to Wyoming, he worked several odd jobs, such as a teacher, cowboy, as well as longshoreman.

The Cold Dish was nominated for the Dilys Award and was the beginning of what became one of the better-known ongoing Western mystery series currently in American crime fiction. The books have been translated into fourteen languages. In 2012, the series was adapted into a television drama that premiered on A&E as the network’s highest-rated original series, before switching to Netflix for its last seasons. The annual Longmire Days festival in Buffalo, Wyoming, which is the real-world model for the series’ fictional Durant, attracts around 15,000 fans a year.

Craig Johnson has won the Western Writers of America Spur Award twice, for Another Man’s Moccasins and The Longmire Defense, and received the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature in 2025.

Craig Johnson Book Adaptations

  • Walt Longmire series – adapted into the television drama Longmire (A&E network 2012–2014; Netflix 2014–2017), starring Robert Taylor, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Katee Sackhoff

Craig Johnson Awards and Honors

Awards

  • Another Man’s Moccasins – WWA Spur Award, Best Western Novel (2008)
  • Another Man’s Moccasins – Mountains & Plains Booksellers Award for Fiction (2008)
  • Death Without Company – Wyoming Historical Association Book of the Year
  • Death Without Company – Le Prix 813 (France)
  • The Cold Dish – Le Prix du Polar Nouvel Observateur/Bibliobs (France)
  • The Dark Horse – Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year (2009)
  • Junkyard Dogs – Watson Award for Best Sidekick (2010)
  • Hell Is Empty – Library Journal Best Mystery of the Year (2011)
  • As the Crow Flies – Rocky Award, Best Crime Novel Typifying the Western United States (2012)
  • The Spirit of Steamboat – Wyoming State Library One Book Wyoming (inaugural selection, 2013)
  • The Longmire Defense – WWA Spur Award, Best Western Contemporary Novel (2023)
  • WWA Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature (2025)
  • Bouchercon Lifetime Achievement Award (2025)
  • Will Rogers Medallion Award(s) (multiple) Craig Johnson — Prix SNCF du Polar (France)

Nominations and Shortlists

  • The Cold Dish – Dilys Award (2006)
  • The Dark Horse – Dilys Award (2010)
  • Hell Is Empty – Barry Award for Best Novel (2012)
  • Depth of Winter – Barry Award for Best Novel (2019)

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.

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4 Comments

  1. There is little parallel between the books and the Netflix series – books are fantastic so wish the series were similar. But Netflix series are very good as well – hard for me to not watch 3 or 4 in a row and before I know it is 3am (on a weekend night). Only Vic, Cady, Henry, and Ruby are represented in both.

  2. Loved the Longmire on Netflicks, I am now hooked.😊

    1. If you had read the books you would have found the Netflix series lacking in every way. Casting was awful as well as adaption

  3. I am hooked on the Walt Longmire series on Netflix. I now want to read anything Craig Johnson wrote. I hope all of his books are as compelling as the Walt Longmire series.

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